Bondi Rescue

- Season 3

(2008)

With the school holiday starting the season, the beach is inundates with Aussie school kids, audacious but without experience: countless cocky would-be heroes get hurt or need rescuing from drowning. A British pool lifeguard also needs the Bondi professionals. The posts at Bondi were decided by grueling tests, three months earlier. Blake did well, but the newest and youngest recruit ever, Trent 'Maxi' Maxwell, is an even stronger candidate. However both are held back in a four days a week training program. Christmas is crazy, some girls even try to strip off Hoppo's ...

A hot New Year's Eve in Sidney, droves come to Bondi for a dive, intoxicated and elated. Even mooners are tolerated now, but it's rescues non-stop while the tide is traitorous. So ten life-guards are on duty, even Kerrbox with a foot in plaster. Two surfers fall badly with serious neck/spinal injury risks. Even the boys's own jet-ski breaks down, turning it into a hazard itself, but Troy brings it in safely.

It's an exceptional day: the sun lures the crowd but the stormy sea causes them to run risks, so it's injury care and rescues on the double. Perfect surf weather always means major crashes with rocks, each-other, swimmers, even a near-swallowing by a cave. Panic can turn a rescue into a life-guard nightmare. The boys' jet-ski training pays of now, but when the vehicle capsizes it becomes a major hazard itself. Finally a beach volleyball match against India's national cricket team.

Bondi Beach welcomes a six weeks temporary recruit: Kyle Pao, from Oahu (a Hawaiian island), where the surf is higher but the crown and number of rescues far smaller. He does well in hazing and a physical tests, even though Maxie clearly outshines him. He's impressed by the Bondi workload, but shows zeal and promise. The boys happily catch a trio of juvenile pick-pockets.

Many Bondi life-guards are top athletes, most got their first training as kids, all go out of their way to help kick-start the next and nipper generations of potential recruits. Eager Blake and Maxie do extra training together. A cocky beach drug possession suspect resists arrest. Next lost little Justin trusts only Maxie while and a storm approaches until his dad turns up with kid brother.

Another Australia day guarantees a huge crowd. The lifeguards are flat-out all day, needing up to five men at a time to rescue careless and/or incompetent swimmers, especially as the currents change traitorously. Kyle never has as many clients in a Hawaian week then here in an hour, but does well, like young dogs Maxie and Blake. A shark is sighted by five independent surfers, so Hoppo has to clear the beach.

On a sunny Valentine's day with a strong current, many kids needs rescuing, parents are scolded for failing to keep a close eye on them. Maxie is cruelly 'tested' by triple boxing champion Bob who resists orders to move with his glass board to the surfing section. Blake must try 'rescuing' an uncooperative veteran in a ruthless current near to the rocks.

The Bondi boys wonder which type of swimwear is most sexy and practical. A strong current makes swimmers desperate. One missing surfer isn't found, but luckily it turns out to be a misunderstanding. The boys still hold their annual Ironman contest, sponsored by the public, racing through monster waves.

Even on an apparently quiet day, the life guards are flat out with serial rescues. A rescued Korean student shows that water in the lungs can bother you for a long time. A Britton learns fishing from the rocks can lead to a terrible fall. Kyle demonstrates a Hawaiian cross between Polynesian rowing and modern board surfing. When he's shown a suspicious canister, his safety measures are substandard. Kerrbox calls for professional help - the police and bomb squad arrive, and so ever more beach is closed off. The boys miss out on most of Valentine's evening to assist ...

A Nepali guy nearly manages to drown in water so shallow he could stand up if only he listened to Bisho. That same day three rescuees have potentially serious back injuries. The wind is so strong a kite surfer becomes a toy out of control. Still the regional life guards competition goes on, after 'friendly' team taunting. The Bondi boys miss sick Scotty, so Maxie is fielded. Even their last hope, the additional surf race on old-fashioned Coolite (foam board) doesn't pay off. Next day the help volunteers who teach people with missing limbs to enjoy aquatic sports.

A scientist choses a busy day, when the sun draws a growing beach crowd, to test the life guard's physical and mental stress. Fitted with cardio-sensors and GPS, their heart-rate and distances are measured. A man in mysteriously rapid shock is diagnosed as being allergic to cold water. A daredevil waves Deano's advice and has an inexperienced friend set his dislocated shoulder back. Most time-consuming is the helicopter-assisted search for a drunk Irishman, who didn't drown in the shallow but wandered back to his car. After a 132 rescues days, heart-rates frequently ...

There's no dress code on Bondi, but life guards often wish there were. Underwear alone looks hideous, but heavy clothing doubles risks as well as the rescue weight. Other emergencies include a thief, obnoxious dating attempts, sea urchin sting and preteen skater David whose bad fall causes a fracture. Blake is a Mormon and handles the occasional 'religious' prank well, but is called to start his two mission years on the Philippines, so he says goodbye in a dark suit.

A few days after another unconfirmed shark sighting, Scott Wright (34) comes forward with a wounded arm. He claims to be the first Bondi swimmer seriously attacked in over 70 years. Although Scott's girl-friend confirms his shady story, which soon makes the press worldwide, the lifeguards come to doubt it. Untimately a shark expert steps by to examine it scientifically.

At the end of another summer on Bondi, we look back at the series' third season. Although rainier weather limited the crowds, there still were many rescues and various other emergencies. Hawaiian guest Kyle's return is celebrated with a prank, but real rescues continue daily. A pantomime on beach safety, to tour schools during the winter break, is tried out successfully. Their last day features the traditionally party dress surfing competition between four Bondi teams.